Two US judges have ordered the Trump administration to reinstate tens of thousands of workers with probationary status who were fired as part of a government-gutting initiative. The rulings came after federal employees challenged the legality of how agencies handled the firings, alleging that they were done unlawfully by fiat from the Office of Personnel Management.
The US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in favor of 19 state attorneys general, ordering the Treasury and Veterans Affairs departments to comply with the court’s decision. Judge William H. Alsup found that the Trump administration’s firing of probationary workers had been done “unlawfully by fiat” from the Office of Personnel Management.
Meanwhile, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a similar order, directing agencies to reinstate tens of thousands of workers who were fired across 19 agencies as part of President Trump’s government-gutting initiative. Judge James Bredar’s ruling applied to all agencies except the Defense Department and 13 others.
The rulings come after the administration had moved to circumvent courts and sideline workers by any means available, including terminating federal contracts and grants faster than courts could order funding unfrozen. The government has appealed both judges’ decisions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
As part of his ruling, Judge Alsup also ordered the government to produce Noah Peters, a lawyer working with Mr. Musk’s team who was detailed to the personnel office, for a deposition in Washington about the impetus behind the firings. The judge criticized the government for failing to produce key witnesses and alleged that they were “afraid to do so” because it would reveal the truth.
The decisions are a significant victory for federal workers who have been affected by the administration’s policies aimed at reducing the size of the government workforce.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/us/politics/trump-federal-workers-rehire-ruling.html